Plastic is one of the materials we’re asked about most at CHaRM. Two common categories we accept are stretchy plastic, also known as plastic film, and food-grade non-stretchy plastic.
When you arrive at CHaRM, plastic is sorted in Plasticville, where signage and staff help guide you. For these non-rigid plastics, you don’t need to look for a resin code—just focus on how the material behaves.
Stretchy plastic is plastic film that you can actively pull or stretch. Examples include plastic grocery bags, bubble wrap, plastic mailing envelopes, shrink wrap, bread bags, and Ziploc bags. Paper labels can stay on.
Food-grade non-stretchy plastic once held food but does not stretch when pulled. This includes grape bags, frozen food bags, cheese bags, and trail mix or granola packaging. Pet food bags are accepted if they are not woven and do not contain an aluminum lining.
All plastic brought to CHaRM must be clean and dry, free of food or liquid residue. A simple tip is to rinse plastics while doing dishes and let them air-dry before your appointment.
Once collected, stretchy plastic is sent to Trex to be made into composite decking and furniture, while food-grade non-stretchy plastic goes to Smurfit Westrock to be recycled into new plastic products.
These plastics don’t have value in curbside recycling, but they do at CHaRM. Making an appointment helps ensure these materials are properly recycled and put back into use.